Cabin telecommunication unit

ABSTRACT

A cabin telecommunications unit that provides combined telephone and entertainment/information services onboard an aircraft. The includes a central data bus for exchanging data between components of the cabin telecommunication unit; a first processor connected to said central data bus for processing a communication received by the cabin telecommunication unit and directing the communication to a destination point within the cabin; and a second processor connected to said central data bus for processing and responding to requests for data stored within said cabin telecommunications unit.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/241,723, filed on Sep. 11, 2002, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cabin telecommunications unit for anaircraft, and, more specifically, a cabin telecommunications unit withthe capability of functioning as a file server.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Today's commercial airline carriers typically provide a variety ofservices to enhance the comfort of and provide convenience to theirpassengers. One such service is access to a telephone, often providedright at the passenger's seat. This allows passengers to not onlycommunicate with other passengers without having to get out of theirseat, but also provides the ability for a passenger to initiate andreceive telephone calls to virtually anywhere in the world. Telephoneaccess also provides the passenger with means to connect their laptop orportable computer to a service provider and the Internet, therebyallowing them to perform functions such as checking their email anddispatching faxes.

Many commercial airlines are also equipping their aircraft to provideonboard entertainment and information services that a passenger canaccess either at their seat or at designated areas within the plane.Access to these services are either through a dedicated computing deviceprovided by the airline, or alternatively, by the passenger's own laptopor portable computer.

To provide the above services typically requires two or more separatedevices located within the aircraft. A cabin telecommunications unit(CTU) is the device responsible for receiving telephony information froma cabin-based telephone system, and relaying that information to eitherother parts of the aircraft, or to the aircraft's transmitter/receiver,thereby allowing telephone calls to or from the aircraft to connect withthe ground-based telephone network. The communications protocol to whichthe CTU and cabin-based telephone system are often designed to complywith is the Aeronautical Radio, Inc, protocol 746 (ARINC 746).

Similarly, a file server (FS) device is required to provide computerizedservices such as onboard entertainment and information services. Typicalfile servers are stand alone devices that incorporate a microprocessorwith short term and long term memory, along with various interfaces andswitching means for directing and processing digital signals. Standardfile server devices designed for use in aircraft are often designed tocomply with ARINC 763 protocol.

FIG. 1 is a simplified depiction of a CTU and a PS provided onboard anaircraft. As illustrated, contained within the cabin 100 of an aircraftis a plurality of seats 110 for the passengers. A CTU 200 and a FS 300are also contained within the cabin 100 (depicted) or, alternatively, inanother area of the aircraft (not depicted). Wiring 210 is laidthroughout the cabin to connect the CTU 200 to a plurality of telephonehandsets 220 distributed throughout the cabin 100, typically at each ofthe passenger seats 110. Similarly, wire 310 is also laid to connect FS300 to a plurality of dedicated access devices (not shown) or to aplurality of access points 320 for interfacing with a portable computingdevice such as a laptop computer 330.

One disadvantage with the traditional system, such as that presented inFIG. 1, is the need to have both the CTU and a FS in order to providethe above passenger services. Both devices take up space within and addto the overall weight of the aircraft, thereby utilizing valuableresources of an aircraft to which airlines would rather allocate toother profit generating purposes. Furthermore, separate power sourcesare often needed for each of the devices, leading to increased costs andgreater loss of space upon the aircraft. Additionally, the presence oftwo separate devices typically requires the aircraft to be wired forboth, thereby further increasing the labor and costs involved inproviding telephone and onboard entertainment and information services.

Therefore, the inventors hereof have recognized the need for a newapparatus for providing both telephone and entertainment/informationservices onboard an aircraft.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cabin telecommunications unit thatprovides combined telephone and entertainment/information servicesonboard an aircraft. The inventive apparatus includes a central data busfor exchanging data between components of the cabin telecommunicationunit; a first processor connected to said central data bus forprocessing a communication received by the cabin telecommunication unitand directing the communication to a destination point within the cabin;and a second processor connected to said central data bus for processingand responding to requests for data stored within said cabintelecommunications unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified depiction of a typical aircraft cabin thatincludes a cabin telecommunications unit and a file server, with theirrespective wiring to each of the passenger seats.

FIG. 2 is a simplified depiction of the basic components that comprise acabin telecommunications unit according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a simplified depiction of one possible form of a cabintelecommunications unit according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 2 illustrates a cabin telecommunications unit (CTU) 400, and someof the components it is comprised of, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. All components of the CTU 400 connect either directlyor indirectly to a central or backplane bus 410, which allows thevarious components to communicate with one another.

One or more multichannel digital telephone interface modules (CEPTModules) 500 connect the CTU 400 to one or more main communicationlines. According to this embodiment, the main communications lines areE1 high speed data lines, the European equivalent to North American T1communication lines but based on a digital transmission format from theConference of European Postal and Telecommunication Administration(CEPT). The CEPT modules 500 link the CTU 400 to the E1 line or lines,which are distributed throughout the cabin, connecting the passengertelephone handsets 220 and access points 320 to the CTU 400. If analternative type of communication line is used in place of an E1 line,CEPT module 500 can simply be replaced with a similar functioninginterface module designed to work the different type of line.

A switch processor 510 serves as the “brains” of the CTU 400, directingdata entering the CTU 400 to the appropriate components at theappropriate time and coordinating the operation of the variouscomponents making up the CTU 400.

An aircraft interface module (AIM) 520 monitors different aspects andstates of the aircraft and relays that data to the CTU 400. For example,one monitoring function of AIM 520 can be a “weight on wheels”assessment which aides in the determination of whether the aircraft iscurrently airborne or on the ground. Based on this and other suchassessments, CTU 400 can appropriately determine the conditions thatexist throughout the aircraft and tailor its actions accordingly. Forinstance, through AIM 520, it is determined that the aircraft has landedand passenger details allowing incoming calls to be directed to specificseats are cleared in readiness for the next flight carrying newpassengers.

In addition to its communication abilities, CTU 400 also containsseveral components that provide it with the ability to function as afile server (FS), allowing additional services to be provided to thepassengers and airline personnel. Some of these components include afile server processor 600, memory 610, and one or more digital signalinterface units 620.

FS processor 600 can be any type of computer microprocessor, such as,for example, an Intel Pentium or other compatible personal computerprocessor, capable of running an operating system such as Linux orMicrosoft Windows 2000. Included with FS processor 600 is a sufficientamount of temporary memory, such as random access memory (RAM), for FSprocessor 600 to function appropriately. Program and data storage isaccomplished by one or more hard disk drives 610 that are accessible byFS processor 600. Communication between the hard disk drive(s) 610 andFS processor 600 is carried out using standard IDE connections. If twoor more hard disk drives are present, the individual drives can bearranged into a redundant RAID array, thereby assuring the existence ofat least one backup copy of the data.

One or more digital signal interface units 620, such as, for example, abank of modulator/demodulaters (modems), is provided to process andconvert into the appropriate format those signals that pass through theCEPT module 500 and are designated to continue on to the FS processor600.

An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) 630 assures that FS processor 600and the other components of CTU 400 are powered by the aircraft with theappropriate voltage, which is obtained by the use of one or more voltageconverters. UPS 630 also incorporates one or more rechargeable batteriesthat will continue to power CTU 400 for a set period of time if the mainpower supply is interrupted.

One or more 10/100 BaseT Ethernet interfaces 700, and/or one or moreuniversal serial bus (USB) interfaces 710 can be incorporated into CTU400 to provide additional means of communicating data to and from CTU400, The USB interface 710 allows for a quick connection to be made tothe CTU 400 without having to go through the E1 or main communicationlines. The 10/100 BaseT Ethernet interface 700 provides for a high speedconnection to CTU 400 when a greater amount of bandwidth compared tothat provided by the E1 or main communication lines is desired.

The CTU 400 can also optionally incorporate a wireless access interface720 that allows the passengers or the crew of the aircraft to access allor certain features of the CTU 400 through a wireless-equipped computingdevice; such as a handheld or laptop computer. For example, the flightcrew could use a wireless handheld device, in conjunction with adatabase maintained within the CTU 400, to efficiently verify and updatepassenger seating assignments. Similarly, passengers could readilyaccess a variety of information services, hosted by CTU 400, throughtheir wireless-equipped laptop computer without concerns such as havingto physically connect their laptop to the aircraft's network or cablecompatibility. Any one of a variety of wireless data transfer standards,such as the widely popular 802.11b wireless communication standard, canbe utilized.

In order for switch processor 510 to be able to direct data to thevarious components discussed above, each of the components must becapable of communicating with the switch processor 510, which requiresthat each of the components possess an identification code or address.Switch processor 510 can then appropriately direct data to the propercomponent by labeling blocks of data with the identification code oraddress of the appropriate component.

How the cabin telecommunications unit 400 works will now be describedwith reference to some general examples. In a first example, if a firstpassenger onboard an aircraft in flight wanted to talk to a secondpassenger sitting in another portion of the aircraft, the firstpassenger can pick up the telephone handset located at his or seat andenter the appropriate information to indicate the desired destination ofthe call. The data representing the call travels through the maincommunication line, which in this example, is an E1 line, toward thecabin telecommunication unit 400. The CEPT module 500 retrieves the datafrom the E1 line and forwards it to switch processor 510. The switchprocessor 510 analyzes the data, determines that it is a passenger phonecall directed to another passenger, and reroutes the data back outthrough the CEPT module 500 to the appropriate telephone handsetassociated with the seat of the second passenger.

Similarly, if the first passenger wished to make a telephone call to alandline telephone number located on the public switched telephonenetwork, the data would again enter the cabin telecommunication unit 400by means of CEPT module 500. The data is then delivered to the switchprocessor 510, which determines through the aircraft interface module520 that the aircraft is currently airborne. Accordingly, the switchprocessor 510 redirects the data back out of the cabin telecommunicationunit 400 to the aircraft's external communication system, which caninclude, for example, a transceiver and an antenna that directs the callto a satellite or ground-based communication system.

According to another example, a passenger connects his or her laptopcomputer to the telephone handset located at their seat, and wishes toaccess an onboard entertainment and information system provided by theairline. Data representing the call is picked up off the E1 line by theCEPT module 500, where it is then directed to switch processor 510. Upondetermining that the data represents a request to access the onboardentertainment and information system, switch processor 510 directs thedata to digital signal interface 620, which performs some preliminaryprocessing of the data and then forwards it to FS processor 600. FSprocessor 600 analyzes the data, determines what information the data isrequesting, retrieves the appropriate information from hard disk 610,and then forwards the information to switch processor 510. Upondetermining that the data represents an answer to a previous request,switch processor 510 directs the data through CEPT module 500, down anE1 line to the passenger who originated the requesting call.

FIG. 3 is a simplified depiction of a cabin telecommunications unit 400according to another embodiment of the present invention. The cabintelecommunications unit 400 is comprised in part of two or more modules420. Each of these modules possess a communication interface (not shown)that inserts or plugs into a receptacle provided within the cabintelecommunication unit 400. The central bus 410 connects each of thereceptacles with one another and to other components of the unit.According to the present embodiment, file serving capabilities can thenbe easily added and modified by inserting one or more modules 420 thatare comprised of the necessary components. For example, one module 420can be comprised of a digital signal interface, computer processor andrandom access memory while a second module contains one or more harddisks for long term data storage.

While the invention has been specifically described in connection withcertain specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that thisis by way of illustration and not of limitation, and the scope of theappended claims should be construed as broadly as the prior art willpermit.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a cabin telecommunication unit, the cabin telecommunication unit including a wireless access interface to allow communication between the cabin telecommunication unit and at least one wireless device within an aircraft; and an aircraft interface module in communication with the cabin telecommunication unit and configured to monitor a plurality of conditions of the aircraft; wherein the aircraft interface module is configured to determine whether the aircraft is airborne or on the ground based on the plurality of conditions; wherein the cabin telecommunication unit is configured to clear passenger details in response to the determined state of the aircraft; the determined state being that the aircraft has landed.
 2. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the aircraft interface module is configured to monitor whether the aircraft is airborne or on the ground by performing a weight on wheels assessment.
 3. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the cabin telecommunication unit includes the aircraft interface module.
 4. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the cabin telecommunication unit includes a switch processor and a file server processor in communication with one another.
 5. A system as set forth in claim 4, wherein the cabin telecommunication unit includes a communication bus and wherein the aircraft interface module, the switch processor, and the file server processor are in communication with the communication bus.
 6. A system as set forth in claim 5, wherein the switch processor is configured to direct data to components of the cabin telecommunication unit via the communication bus.
 7. A system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the wireless access interface uses an 802.11 wireless communication standard.
 8. A method comprising: monitoring, via an aircraft interface module, a plurality of conditions of an aircraft; determining, via a cabin telecommunication unit, a state of the aircraft; and clearing passenger details based on the determined state of the aircraft; the determined state being that the aircraft has landed.
 9. A method as set forth in claim 8, further comprising monitoring, via the aircraft interface module, whether the aircraft is airborne or on the ground.
 10. A method as set forth in claim 9, wherein monitoring whether the aircraft is airborne or on the ground includes performing a weight on wheels assessment.
 11. A method as set forth in claim 9, further comprising directing data to components of the cabin telecommunication unit via a communication bus.
 12. A method as set forth in claim 9, further comprising allowing, via a wireless access interface, wireless communication between the cabin telecommunication unit and at least one wireless device within the aircraft.
 13. A system comprising: a cabin telecommunication unit having a plurality of components in communication with one another via a communication bus, the components including: an aircraft interface module configured to monitor a plurality of conditions of an aircraft, including monitoring whether the aircraft is airborne or on the ground; a wireless access interface configured to allow wireless communication between the cabin telecommunication unit and at least one wireless device within the aircraft; and a file server processor in communication with the aircraft interface module and the wireless access interface, to provide information to the at least one wireless device; wherein the cabin telecommunication unit is configured to determine a state of the aircraft and clear passenger details after determining that the aircraft has landed.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the wireless access interface uses an 802.11 wireless communication standard. 